The following description relates to production of fibers into a batt in a continuous process.
Fibrous materials are often produced by passing a fiber-forming, liquified material through apertures to form one or more liquid streams of material. The liquid stream cools, and hardens into a solid filament subsequent to passing out of the aperture. The solid filament may then be collected on a moving screen or porous belt below the location where it was formed, and multiple filaments may be combined and layered to form a batt of material. This batt may then be used for many purposes. For example, when the material is carbon fiber, the batt may be used directly as a structural component in a carbon fiber composite system. The batt may also be chopped, and the resulting pieces may provide structural support in many diverse applications, such as in part of a spray-on carbon fiber system.
Often, the fiber filaments are fairly brittle when they are formed. As a result, the filaments may break in various places as they land on the moving screen or bed. However, it is preferred to have the filaments maintain their integrity, in part because broken filaments provide less structural support when applied, and because broken filaments produce discontinuities in the batt that prevent the batt from being a continuous random collection of filaments, having equal strength and other properties throughout.
Also, multiple continuous fibers may be produced in a line so as to form a curtain, and then laid down on a belt to form a batt. Other layers may then be produced downstream of the first layer to produce an even thicker batt. In some production processes, the batt after being formed is introduced into a furnace in which it is dried. Production of a uniform batt having low bulk density is preferred in such an operation because such a batt allows for relatively quick and even drying.